Overexposure to sunlight is damaging to natural photosynthetic systems of green plants and cyanobacteria. Nature has solved the problem through a photoprotection mechanism called “nonphotochemical-quenching.” A team led by MSU's Cheryl Kerfeld has discovered a surprising key event in this energy-quenching process.

An team of MSU scientists, led by integrative biologist Jason Gallant, is using a $700,000 National Science Foundation grant to study how electric fish signals evolve, research that could offer insights into the evolution of new species.

College of Natural Science

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MSU's newly formed Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering will host an inaugural workshop Sept. 16 -17, to kick off intellectual discourse on scientific computing and data science across the MSU community.

Giant stars die a violent death. After a life of several million years, they collapse into themselves and then explode in what is known as a supernova. How these stars explode remains a mystery. However, recent work led by Michigan State University may bring some answers to this astronomical question.

Christoph Benning, Michigan State University professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, will become the director of the Michigan State University/U.S. Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory beginning Aug. 16.

Michigan State University has been awarded $22.5 million by the National Science Foundation to continue the research, education and outreach activities of the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action.